I’ve been waking up with a sore throat for the past week. I’ve tried everything from taking cough drops to drinking chamomile tea, to gargling warm salt water to kill bacteria and infection. Nothing has helped sooth my throat irritations. Last night I made myself a sweet ginger drink that my boyfriend’s mom made when he had sore throat. I love how it coax my throat when I drink it really hot and it also relieves coughing. There are different ways in making ginger tea. Here is a simple formula that definitely works great!

You will need:

• 1 to 2 big pieces of ginger root
• Half gallon of water
• A strip of yellow sugar (found in Asian Markets) or honey will work as well.

To begin:

1. Boil the water in low to medium heat.
2. Peel the ginger and slice into pieces as shown above.
3. When the water starts to boil, add the ginger in the pot.
4. Drop a strip of yellow sugar (or honey) into the pot.
5. Boil for half an hour and the tea should start to turn yellow or tan. You can let it sit longer for more potency but it will be pretty overwhelming if you’re not a big fan of ginger flavor.
6. Scoop the contents, including ginger roots, into a cup and let it cool before sipping.

The tea gives a sharp tingle and I love how it gently clears your throat. I hope this helps!

For more cough and sore throat remedies, check out Health 911.

I read an article from Yahoo!’s Shine.com and thought it was really neat to look into how different cultures eat and stay slim! These global tips will show you how to enjoying good food, in moderation, without guilt! Here are some of my favorites from that article.

Stop eating before you’re full. The Okinawans, whose average BMI is 21.5 for those who eat a traditional diet, call this hara hachi bu, or eating till you’re 80 percent full. Of course, we’re not suggesting that you leave the table hungry. But eating until the buttons pop stretches the stomach by about 20 percent each time you do it, so you inevitably need more food to feel satisfied, explains Bradley Willcox, MD, co-author of The Okinawa Diet Plan. He says that putting your fork down “when you feel that first twinge of fullness” gives your brain a chance to realize that you are full before you overdo it.

Drizzle on the healthy oils. Healthy fats like olive oil, a staple of the Mediterranean diet, and canola oil, a staple of Okinawans, make vegetables tastier, so you’re likely to eat more of them. And, as we know, eating a diet rich in produce is key to maintaining a healthy weight.

Have a glass of wine. A staple of French and Mediterranean tables, wine adds joy to the meal, and because it contains potent antioxidants, is at least partly responsible for why these cultures traditionally have lower rates of cardiovascular disease and mortality despite their higher-fat diets. And while some studies show that we tend to eat more when we drink, a Finnish study actually found that male drinkers were leaner than abstainers.

To read more about Weight Loss Secrets from Around the World, check out Shine.com.

New York Times author, Michael Pollan, has pulled together 20 solid and practical eating rules of thumb. Here are some of my favorite advices from his article for eating better and healthier.

• If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you’re not hungry.
• The Chinese have a saying: “Eat until you are seven-tenths full and save the other three-tenths for hunger.” That way, food always tastes good, and you don’t eat too much.
• No second helpings, no matter how scrumptious.
• Make and take your own lunch to work [...] It saves money, and you know what you are eating.
• Avoid snacks foods with the “OH” sound in their names: Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Hostess Ho Hos, etc.

To read more about Pollan’s Food Rules, check out The Food Issue.